van Buuren Mariët, Sijtsma Hester, Lute Nicky, van Rijn Rebecca, Hollarek Miriam, Walsh Reubs J, Lee Nikki C, Krabbendam Lydia
Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherland.
Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherland.
Neuroimage. 2022 May 15;252:119032. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119032. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
During adolescence, major changes in brain mechanisms take place and differentiated representations of both the self and of others are developed. Although studies have investigated the neural mechanisms of self- and other-referential processing in adolescents, the development of these mechanisms remain largely unaddressed. Here, we report a three-year longitudinal study with annual measurements, and investigate the developmental trajectories of activity and connectivity underlying self- and other-referential processes in 34 participants from early to mid-adolescence (mean age timepoints 1, 2, 3 = 12.9, 13.9, 15.0 years). Moreover, we probe whether these correlates continue to develop from mid-adolescence to young adulthood by comparing neural correlates of the adolescents at the last measurement to an independent group of 42 young adults (mean age 22 years). Participants underwent functional MRI while performing a trait judgement task in which they indicated whether an adjective described themselves, a similar or a dissimilar peer. Brain activity within the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) and right temporal parietal junction (TPJ) showed a quadratic change from early to mid-adolescence, with a peak in activity at the second measurement when evaluating the self, the similar and dissimilar peer. No differential activity was observed when comparing the adolescents to young adults. Functional connectivity did not change from early to mid-adolescence, however, connectivity of the dMPFC with a posterior midline region during self- and other-referential processing relative to the control condition reduced from mid-adolescence to young adulthood. Together, these findings provide insight in the developmental trajectories of brain activity and connectivity underlying the development of the self-concept and representations of peers in adolescence.
在青春期，大脑机制会发生重大变化，自我和他人的差异化表征得以形成。尽管已有研究探讨了青少年自我参照和他人参照加工的神经机制，但这些机制的发展在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究。在此，我们报告一项为期三年的纵向研究，每年进行测量，调查34名从青春期早期到中期（平均年龄时间点1、2、3分别为12.9岁、13.9岁、15.0岁）的参与者在自我参照和他人参照过程中活动及连接性的发展轨迹。此外，我们通过将青少年在最后一次测量时的神经关联与一个由42名年轻成年人（平均年龄22岁）组成的独立组进行比较，探究这些关联是否从中期青春期持续发展到青年期。参与者在进行特质判断任务时接受功能磁共振成像，在该任务中他们要表明一个形容词描述的是自己、一个相似或不相似的同龄人。背内侧前额叶皮层（dMPFC）和右侧颞顶联合区（TPJ）内的大脑活动从青春期早期到中期呈二次变化，在第二次测量时，当评估自我、相似和不相似的同龄人时，活动达到峰值。将青少年与年轻成年人进行比较时，未观察到差异活动。从青春期早期到中期，功能连接性没有变化，然而，在自我参照和他人参照加工过程中，相对于对照条件，dMPFC与后中线区域的连接性从中期青春期到青年期有所降低。这些发现共同为青春期自我概念和同龄人表征发展背后的大脑活动及连接性发展轨迹提供了见解。
